Serine/threonine phosphatase (SP-STP), secreted from Streptococcus pyogenes, is a pro-apoptotic protein.

ABSTRACT: This investigation illustrates an important property of eukaryote-type serine/threonine phosphatase (SP-STP) of group A Streptococcus (GAS) in causing programmed cell death of human pharyngeal cells. The secretory nature of SP-STP, its elevated expression in the intracellular GAS, and the ability of wild-type GAS but not the GAS mutant devoid of SP-STP to cause apoptosis of the host cell both in vitro and in vivo suggest that GAS deploys SP-STP as an important virulence determinant to exploit host cell machinery for its own advantage during infection. The exogenously added SP-STP is able to enter the cytoplasm and subsequently traverses into the nucleus in a temporal fashion to cause apoptosis of the pharyngeal cells. The programmed cell death induced by SP-STP, which requires active trans

SUBMITTER: Agarwal S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3308748 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature